“There’s a lot that will come out at trial,” a friend close to the Kouri Richins murder case said in an interview. “I’m certain that once it does, the jury will make the right decision.”
Friends of the children's grief book author charged with her husband's death are breaking their silence to defend the mother-of-three.
Kouri Richins is currently behind bars in Utah after a judge denied her request for pre-trial release ahead of her murder trial later this year.
She is accused of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, a claim that both she and now her friends deny.
Richins is due back in court on Friday for a scheduling conference that will determine if her case is heading to trial. If the judge does not dismiss the case, Richins will formally enter her plea to the charges against her at that time.
The judge agreed to grant a 60-day extension for the scheduling conference back in June after both the defense and prosecution requested more time to look over the evidence during Richins' initial court appearance.
“There’s a lot that will come out at trial,” a friend close to the case said in an interview with People. “I’m certain that once it does, the jury will make the right decision.”
This could include allegations about Eric Richins' lifestyle.
Individuals close to the couple say Eric had "begun drinking and taking illegal drugs during their marriage," reports People.
“The family needs an answer — someone to blame,” said Kouri’s best friend, Ali. “I believe Eric must have died from an accidental overdose.”
Another friend said Richins' family members "want to believe Eric was perfect in every way, that Eric couldn’t have died in any other way besides at Kouri’s hands."
A warrant obtained by Inside Edition Digital alleges that Richins initially told officers she brought her husband a Moscow mule in bed to celebrate the fact that the couple had closed on the house back on March 4, 2022, and then went to sleep with one of their three sons because he was having a "night terror."
She said that when she returned to her bedroom her husband was cold to the touch, according to the warrant.
The warrant says that investigators became suspicious when a search of her phone allegedly showed movement during the time Richins claimed to be sleeping in her son's bed. The search also allegedly revealed that text messages had been deleted from the device.
Richins went ahead with signing the papers for the new home the very next day, and then threw a party to celebrate.
Greg Skordas, a spokesperson for Eric's family, did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations being made by friends of Richins, but did previously to tell Inside Edition that Richins' behavior after Eric's death raised "a lot of red flags."
Investigators eventually determined that Eric's death had been caused by a fatal dose of fentanyl that was "ingested orally," according to the warrant.
"He expressed to some of his family members that if something ever did happen to him, that [Richins] should be investigated," Skordas told Inside Edition Digital.
Police believe that may have been the result of a previous attempt on his life.
The warrant alleges that Richins had purchased fatal quantities of hydrocodone and fentanyl prior to her purchase of the fentanyl she allegedly used to spike his drink on the night of his death.
An acquaintance of Richins told police that after she requested "some of that Michael Jackson stuff," he provided her with $900 worth of fentanyl twice in February 2022.
On Feb. 11, 2022, police say Richins procured between 15-30 pills from the dealer.
"Three days later, on February 14, 2022, Eric and defendant had a Valentine’s Day dinner at their Kamas home," the warrant alleges. "Shortly after the dinner, Eric became very ill. Eric believed that he had been poisoned. Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him."
Richins allegedly received the second batch of the drugs on Feb. 26, 2022, according to the warrant. Eric died on March 4, 2022.
Richins later went on to write a children's book about grief, which included an illustration of her husband with angel wings on the cover.
Her arrest occurred on May 8 after a police investigation.
She is charged with aggravated murder and three counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. She has not yet entered a plea to the charges she faces.
A judge denied her pretrial release during a hearing on June 12 after prosecutors argued the widow and mother of three posed a "substantial danger."
As proof of that "danger," prosecutors noted a jailhouse conversation in which Richins' mother noted that the only person she is a "danger" to is her sister-in-law, Richins-Benson. Richins responded by laughing at the comment and agreeing with her mother, according to the prosecutor's motion.
